The Wesley Project

Hey, everybody,

For the past couple of years, I've been writing new tunes to Charles and John Wesley songs from the United Methodist Hymnal. My friend Mark, http://www.stupidityensues.blogspot.com/, found out that this is actually a real thing done by a guy named Carl Thomas Gladstone. Check out http://www.carlthomasgladstone.com/wesleyproject.htm. I wrote mine completely unaware that this was going on, but its pretty cool. My big brother Andy has rewritten quite a few, as well. He says there's usually two types of Charles Wesley hymns, the "fight song" type and the organ opera that's way too hard to sing.

Here's the problem. Modern songs need a chorus. If you want a congregation to be familiar with a song and sing along, the song needs a catchy, easy-to-sing, memorable repeated section. The biz talk for this is the hook. The song needs a hook. Charles Wesley didn't write hooks, he didn't know what they were. So, you've got to find a line within the song to use as a chorus. "Amazing love, how can it be, that thou my God would die for me?" from And Can it Be that I should Gain, is a great chorus.

Another problem is the language. I don't change the thee's and thou's, I kind of like them. But, some words that rhymed when Charles wrote them, don't rhyme any more. And, the line above is actually shouldst die for me, but who wants to sing the word shouldst?

So, here's a little song list that I've got so far.

Maker In Whom We Live: This is the first one I wrote, and it sounds like it. A regular G, C, D praise song.

Thou Hidden Source of Calm Repose: Never heard this one done in its original form. Probably a reason for that. The backward, Yoda speech of this one called for a reggae beat.

Praise to the Lord the Almighty: Not a Wesley song, but I'm pretty proud of this one because it uses not one, but TWO capos (that's right Mustoe, I did it, two capos) Ask your nearest guitar player what a capo is.

Christ Whose Glory Fills the Skies: A Pearl Jam-y slow rocker, needs a full band and a Ryan McLouth lead guitar line.

Jesus, Thy Boundless Love to Me: #183 in the UMC hymnal, a poem translated by John Wesley who called it the cry of his heart. I like this one.

O Love Divine, What Hast Thou Done: A beautiful song about the passion of Christ. Naturally, I did this one as a blues song.

Christ the Lord is Risen Today: A St. Paul favorite and probably the most complex one. Andy, Ron and Joel sat in the back picking out the Pearl Jam section, the Dave Matthews Band part, the U2 bridge. Impossibly high pitched U2 bridge, why do I write music out of my own range?

Depth of Mercy: A clear Jack Johnson rip-off.

And Can It Be That I Should Gain (Amazing Love): The newest one. Just a classic rock song. Needs a full band to really be appreciated.

O For a Heart to Praise My God: An upbeat bluegrassy tune. Needs slide guitar and Mr. Clayton Peak on banjo. Actually had to write a chorus for this one.

Jesus Thine All Victorious Love: A bluegrass ballad. Screams for a fiddle part.

Jesus, United By Thy Grace: This one's for the boys of Blessed. A complete, exact rip-off of our 8-minute, four-chord jam.

I have some other arrangements of non-Wesley tunes: Holy, Holy, Holy. There's Within My Heart a Melody. Psalm 29. For the Beauty of the Earth.

There are passionate, powerful words in our hymnal. But, the music doesn't exactly speak to my generation. Looking forward to sharing these songs with you whenever I can.

Love, Peace and Rock n' Roll,
Brad